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Why does Rashi (רש"י) specify that Amorites hid treasures during the forty years of Jewish wandering, and why mention Amorites rather than Canaanites generally? The Amorites' lease on Jewish land expired at the Exodus, making them illegal occupants during Israel's desert years. The hidden wealth represents back rent legally owed to the true landowners, not war spoils.
Rabbi Zweig addresses two fundamental difficulties in Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary on the plague of houses in Parshas Metzora. Rashi explains that finding plague in one's house was actually good news, as it would lead to discovering treasures that the Amorites had hidden in the walls during the forty years the Jews wandered in the desert. The first difficulty is why Rashi limits this to only the forty years of Jewish wandering, ignoring treasures that might have been stored earlier. The second difficulty is why Rashi switches from the Torah (תורה)'s generic term 'Canaan' to specifically mention 'Amorites.' The resolution lies in understanding the Bris Bein HaBesarim (Covenant Between the Parts), where Hashem (ה׳) told Avrohom that his descendants would be enslaved for four hundred years before returning to the land in the fourth generation. The reason for this delay was that the Amorites' sins had not yet reached their full measure (lo shalmu avon Emori). This gave them a temporary lease on the land that belonged inherently to the Jewish people.
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Parshas Metzora
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